Ozark Folksongs\nVarious Artists\nRounder\nLance Randolph did most of his work in other people's kitchens or on other people's porches. The folklore collector spent nearly 50 years recording the music of the Ozark Mountain region, which covers parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Nestled in that rugged terrain, Randolph captured Ozark natives as they spilled forth the soul of a culture.\nMuch of Randolph's work was completed in 1941-42, after famed folklorist Alan Lomax loaned him a cumbersome recording machine, aluminum discs and travel expenses. Randolph proceeded to capture roughly 830 pieces on nearly 200 discs, recording ballads, songs and instrumentals. The collection was deposited at the Library of Congress' Archive of Folk Culture, but, for the most part, the recordings were not commercially released until now.\nOzark Folksongs presents a wide variety of musical forms and styles, from the lonely a cappella warblings of Charles Ingenthron, Lillian Short and Doney Hammontree to the solemn couplings of harmonica player Arthur Trail and guitarist Wiley Hembree. The collection also features solo instrumentalist pieces by several artists, including fiddler Lon Jordan and Shamus O'Brien on guitar.\nPerhaps the best music on the collection are the two songs by Jimmy Denoon. On "The Little Old Shod Shanty on the Claim," Denoon's sad, lilting voice resonates beautifully against quiet guitar accompaniment, while Denoon's shows his talents as a guitar-picker on "Chicken Reel."\nThe music on Ozark Folksongs is limited by the production quality; the recordings are scratchy and sometimes muffled, and often the listener can hear the sounds of shuffled papers or passing trains in the background.\nBut then again, that's part of the music's charm. Ozark Folksongs presents real American folk music being performed in its natural environment -- on a porch, for just a few attentive listeners.\n
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